Hi.
You may or may not know me, but I’m the person who has been editing this blog since December 2005. I hope you are familiar with our site, our history, and our work. I hope you read our blog posts, subscribe to the site, and follow us on social media. Not necessarily all of those things, but enough of the things to show that you recognize the value of a LGBTQ blog/website in this region.
That’s why you are here, right? You are reading this because you see value in us promoting your Pride event or activity. Our value comes from the thousands of people who invest in the blog – they read our posts and share some of them on their social media channels, they share their story with the #AMPLIFY project, they donate or contribute financially, they share tips for stories that have no benefit for them personally, and they do many other things that build us up and help us continue to do this work.
Before we go any further, let me invite you to read (or reread) our post from May 19:
50+ Pittsburgh Ways to Honor the 50th Legacy of Stonewall #PghPride
We made a list of 50 ways to honor Stonewall which by default includes celebrating Pride. Check it out. You might be on there. If you are not on there, you can leave a comment on that post with your details and I will update it as often as I can because it is useful for the community. Hint: leaving a comment is more likely to get your event listed because it shows that you read the original post and you took the time to engage us & our readers by commenting, versus emailing me privately.
There’s a lot going on. That’s awesome — it reminds me of Pride in the early 2000’s when it was administrated by the GLCC (now the Pittsburgh Equality Center.) We went to panel discussions, workshops, performances, puppet shows, and so much more. My excitement should reduce the need for you to point out that your event is for a good cause simply because it is a Pride event. Nope. That’s not true. Inherently good cause is not the same thing as Pride event.
This is an unpaid blog, not a corporate subsidized media site. Our time is limited. We have Pride events to attend, a family to care for, and lots of projects going on at any time. We want to do our best to lift up all the events, but our constraints are real.
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So to save everyone some time, I decided to create a little primer for how to get your event promoted on my blog.
Here are things we can offer you
- A listing in the 50 things to do post
- Serve as social media sponsor for your event
- A Q&A with your creators and organizers with links to your event
- General social media mentions across our platforms
- Live tweeting or live blogging from your event
These are thing sto consider before you approach me.
First, are you willing to do more than share a flyer/press release? Will you do or arrange for an email Q&A with your performers, creators, organizers, etc? Our Q&A’s are very popular and are one way for you to give back to our readers while also promoting your event. It does have to be via email because of my own constraints, but we are very open to interviewing any openly LGBTQ person affiliated with your event – behind the scenes, etc. Take care on this – it does require some time and energy.
Second, are you prepared to give us media access with a +1 included? If you’ve read the blog and know a little about me, you know that I need a +1 as a disability accommodation. If we are there live and in person, we will check in, tweet, tag you, and maybe write a review. If your budget doesn’t allow for media comp tickets, I understand. You probably understand that we cannot pay to attend events to cover them for our blog. So that circles you back to the original suggestions.
Third, do you want to give away something to our readers – tickets, tee shirts, art, music, etc? We can do that. People love giveaways.
Fourth, is your event fully accessible? Is it affordable, along a bus route, have childcare, etc? Tell us – these things stand out. Are you making pride political?
Fifth, is your event a fundraiser for a LGBTQ cause? A Pittsburgh based LGBTQ cause? A cause that centers Black trans woman and non-binary individuals? A cause that is not administered by allies, but actually led by LGBTQ folx? Tell us!
Sixth, have you shared your LGBTQ story with the AMPLIFY project? We always put AMPLIFY contributors at the front of our lines so that’s one investment that will pay off in dividends. It takes 30 minutes. Here’s the link. And then tell us you did it. We realize not everyone can share their story. But you can invite your team to share their stories, post on your social media, etc.
Seventh, write a guest post.
Eight, offer us a table.
Finally, you can donate to our work. We will consider sponsored blog posts (you pay to have a post focused on your event) but we also love to thank our donors who invest in us through other channels.
So reach out to us by all means. But if you are not familiar with our work, our values, our history, or our perspectives on Pride, you might want to educate yourself a bit first.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
On the flip side, if you are interested in US sponsoring your event – we just signed up to invest in a local zine highlightin the local ENBY community along with sponsoring People’s Pride at the bronze level – also give us a shout. We don’t have unlimited funds, so we are prioritizing grassroots efforts that center marginalized voices.
